The Interstate Highway System 1950-2000

(Above) This map by Chris Yates, 2007 shows a simplified version of the U.S. Interstate Highway system. (Definitely, click for larger view)

(Top and bottom) The results of population sprawl and density as a result of the Interstate Highway System in 50 years (1950 to 2000). Click for larger view.

Click for larger view.

HOW MANY PEOPLE TODAY KNOW that the even numbered interstates run east and west, and the odd numbered interstates run north and south? A simple thing to remember and an easy thing to forget. So, what has the interstate system done to spread the growth of cities and towns in our country? Check out the difference in the two population density maps, one dated 1950 and the last one in the year 2000.

The Interstate System has been called the greatest public works project in American history. From the day President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Interstate System has been a part of our culture—as construction projects, as transportation in our daily lives, and as an integral part of the American way of life. Every citizen has been touched by it, if not directly as motorists, then indirectly because every item we buy has been on the Interstate System at some point. President Eisenhower considered it one of the most important achievements of his two terms in office, and historians agree.